View Full Version : Bruce Vs. JoeBob
The Axis attack has started. JoeBob wouldn't let me have the 3TO's so we went for the historical option - I was planning to attack in the South anyway and the historical setup forced him to deploy in the North.
I had great fun harrasing his airforce. To do this I made sure that all my fighters were on air-superiority and then started moving the armoured train units back and forward along the railways (they aren't much use for anything else). This triggered interdication attacks and the resulting air battles saw lots of his fighters getting killed. I followed up with airbase attacks throughout the turn and eventually scored (according to my pilots!) 226 enemy aircraft for 31 of my own.
The attack in the South is just under halfway to the pocket and his cavalry corps is just about gone. I've attacked in the centre too and linked with the Brandenberg units that were dropped on the bridge (I'm hoping that the rules mean what they say!).
Best part of the turn was the 6th Armee's 'supply drain' attacks on the surrounding Don forces. At the end of the turn there was only two Soviet red stacks left - everything else had been reduced. I was achieving kill ratios of more than 10:1. Nearly ten Soviet rifle divisions evaporated in the last combat phase. The loss penalty at the end of the turn was Soviet 8 Axis 1. By hitting the Don units now, I'm hoping that it will be easy to break through with my Panzers when they arrive on the scene. Supply drain works so well on the Soviets I would say that it is an absolute essential first-turn tactic.
I had great fun harrasing his airforce. To do this I made sure that all my fighters were on air-superiority and then started moving the armoured train units back and forward along the railways (they aren't much use for anything else). This triggered interdication attacks and the resulting air battles saw lots of his fighters getting killed. I followed up with airbase attacks throughout the turn and eventually scored (according to my pilots!) 226 enemy aircraft for 31 of my own.
Yep, on the second turn I just moved units around and the Red Air force killed itself trying to interdict me. Since then I've been sending one of my bombers to attack one of his airfields (usually a min loss airfield attack) almost every combat phase. I'll have overwhelming superiority in the air within a couple of turns.
Bob Cross did some testing and discovered the following about the air report:
- your losses per turn are always accurate (we knew this), but enemy losses per turn are multiplied by one of the following:
1.5x, 2.0x, 2.5x
It appears to be random which multiplier is used, but if you consider the enemy loss report as doubled you can't be too far off.
Best part of the turn was the 6th Armee's 'supply drain' attacks on the surrounding Don forces. At the end of the turn there was only two Soviet red stacks left - everything else had been reduced. I was achieving kill ratios of more than 10:1. Nearly ten Soviet rifle divisions evaporated in the last combat phase. The loss penalty at the end of the turn was Soviet 8 Axis 1. By hitting the Don units now, I'm hoping that it will be easy to break through with my Panzers when they arrive on the scene. Supply drain works so well on the Soviets I would say that it is an absolute essential first-turn tactic.
Surprisingly, GunnerC didn't clear those cherry-red Soviet stacks on the frontline on his half of turn 2, so when I started supply drain on Don Front on turn 3 I cleared most of his red stacks for him :). I just never like to be the one to initiate supply-drain.
Me either.
But my philosophy of it all is that a tourney is a 'competitive' game, and anything (short of outright cheating, of course), is allowed. Since there truly is no right or wrong answer to certain tactics (like supply drain), it only makes sense to me that in this most competitive type of game, players are allowed to use all the tricks in the book. Nothing should be disallowed, unless specifically requested by the players themselves.
In other words, it's the one format in which I do not feel guilty utilizing 'gamey' tactics. When I PBEM, I play for the game itself. When I play in tournies, I'm trying to help my team win. Use the game engine as best you know how.
I'm not sure how 'gamey' the tactic is in this case. Most of the German troops involved in the supply drain have to be broken down infantry (since there isn't an awful lot else there). I'm pretty sure probes and and minor spoiling attacks and lots of artillery bombardments were a pretty important part in the defence of Stalingrad. What's happing in these attacks isn't really supply drain, but the wholesale slaughter of the dense Soviet troops formations.
I think we should, however, ban the Soviet player from making these sort of attacks. (let me think of a historical reason...Hhhhm... wait a minute, because the Soviets had rotten communications systems!)
Yes the Russians had horrbile communications, I think they had something like 1 radio for every 5-10 tanks (changes as the war progresses).
We should of talked about this supply drain on the 1st turn, I would of used it too, that is pretty good kill ratios :)
Could someone tell me the best way to do Supply Drain as i've never used it before.
Could someone tell me the best way to do Supply Drain as i've never used it before.
Break a small unit down. Preferably something like armor as its more resilient.
Use the broken down units to attack a much larger enemy unit and have as much artillery support the attack as possible (you can either manually target it, or just leave the artillery in dug-in/tactical reserve/local reserve deployment and they'll automatically support all attacks). You will lose almost nothing and inflict a lot of casualties.
With respect to artillery deployment, if you are specifically trying to hammer a few red-density stacks for example, directly targetting the artillery can have payoffs. Pay attention to the movement rates though, as 6th army artillery generally has a movement allotment of 2-4, so don't move and directly target artillery. Otherwise, if you plan to hit a lot of nearby hexes, leave the artillery in dug-in/TR/LR so they'll support multiple attacks per round.
In addition to what MikeJ has already said:
I do supply drain as limited attack/minimise losses attacks. The limited attack reduces the losses on your attacking unit at the cost of it attacking at only half-strength. Since the whole point of the supply drain is to drag in artillery to do the killing, losing half the units attack strenght isn't a big deal. The minimise loses is to make sure your unit breaks off early. If you have a high proficiency unit on any other than minimise losses there is a chance it will bash away at the enemy stack for several combat rounds, which really screws up your attack planning.
For supply drain attacks I'd always avoid using direct artillery atttacks and instead just put the artillery in non-mobile deployment (dug-in if you've got the movement points and aren't going anywhere, tactical reserve otherwise). Pulling non-mobile artillery in means that it attacks at half-strength, but if there are four or five supply drain attacks in range, the unit will fire four or five times rather than once. This depletes the artillery supply PDQ, but what are shells for?
Concentrate on attacking big stacks - those with amber or red markers. This is where the big kill ratios can come. It can be worth attacking smaller stacks, but this is a true supply drain and not a killer attack.
Just finished turn5.
I still haven't reeached the pocket, but now have four Panzer divisions with 3-4 hexes of the six army and another two nearby. Two Russian mech Corps have been nearly wiped out and the cavalry and infantry forces south of the pocket have been killed too. He is attacking north and south, but the Italians and Rumanians are holding up (for now).
Loss penalty is 5:13, not great, but hopefully once I get to the pocket things will improve.
Little Saturn has started this turn (we're playing the historical game).
Turn 8 is now over and I've managed to open up the pocket over four hexes. The Soviet troops that are left defending the pocket in the South have been badly mauled and should be destroyed next turn.
In the South he is pushing the Rumanians back, but has now hit the line of an infantry division. He has nothing on his Northern flank and I intend to cut down behind the troops in the South and destroy them once I can release a Panzer division.
The Northern to Central sectors have been torn to pieces and I've decided to fall back onto the major river line. I've a fresh Panzer division available in the centre which I plan to use to support the defense. The Italians and the Germans that can't make it back will have to fight delaying actions (although all they are doing at the moment is getting surrounded and killed). I'm hoping to draw him away from his supply sources and then cut away behind him. I'm praying that Hitler releases the forces off map in the South soon (I'm playing the historical option).
Things are tough, but not hopeless. The relief of the pocket will hopefully be a big morale blow to my opponent and might knock him off his game.
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